Claes w



(No Model.)

C. W. BMAN.

BOX OR CASE.

No. 356,979. Patented Peb. 1, 1887'.

` Eli/63m?! l UNITED` STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cLAEs W. ROMAN,

lsox R CASE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 356,979. dated February 1, 18a?.

' Application filed DecemberI 6, 18.86. Serial No. 220,804. (No model.)

To aZZ whomi may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAEs W. BoMAN, of the city county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Boxes orCases, of which the following is a specification. 4

` The box in which my invention is comprised is characterized by a self-closing stopper or plug applied to the exterior'of the opening 1o or mouth of the box andbodily movable outwardly therefrom, said stopper being springclosing-that is to say, being combined with a spring-acting mechanism attached to the body of the box, which mechanism, while permitting the stopper-to move outwardly or externally away from the opening or mouth of the box, will, whenfree to act, draw the same into or over the said mouth or opening, so as to close it. Y

I am of course aware that hinged springclosing covers have been applied to boxes. I

am also aware that bottles have been provided with internal stoppers forced'up from the inside into the neck, so as to close the latter, and

' 2 5 adapted to be forced or drawn down into the body ofthe bottle, so as to leave the neck open. In my box or case, however, the stopper is not hinged, but is movable bodily toward and away from the opening which it is to close; 3o and it is located not within but upon the outside of the box, and is movable outwardly and externally to and from theopening or mouth which it is to close.

-The nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect will be readily understood by refference to the accompanying drawings, in whichf Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of 4o the box closed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same with thestopper moved to a position to uncover the mouth of the box.

The body A of the box can be made of' any suitable conguration, external and internal, and of any desired sizes I prefer to make it of wood. The particular structure shown in the drawings is one designed for school and other like uses, for the purpose of holding pencils and other appliances or instruments em- 5o ployed by scholars. For this use the body of the box, as shown, can be conveniently 4made in the shape'of a hollow wooden cylinder of a length sufficient to permit it to comfortably receive pencils, pens, dividers, and the like. To its open mouth or front end is tted a plug or stopper, B, which is jointed (somewhat after the fashion of a bell-clapper) to a slender pusherfrod, C, the rear portion of which passes loosely through a central aperture in a diaphragm, D, located Within the cylinder, near the rear' end of the latter, which diaphragm forms the bottom or rear end of the chamber within the cylinder. In that portion of the cylinder between the diaphragm and the extreme rear end of the cylinder is fitted a longitudinallymovable pressure-knob, D', and between the diaphragm and the knob is confined a spiral retraeting-spring, E. The rod C passes through this spring and is joined tightly to the pressure-knob. The parts are so arranged and adjusted that normally the retracting-spring, by pressure upon the pressure-knob, draws the stopper into the mouth of the box and holds it there tightly, as shown in Fig. .1. If, however, the pressure-knob be pushed forward by hand against the stress of the retracting-spring, the stopper will be permitted or caused to bodily drop or move away from the mouth of the box, as seen in Fig. 2. The stopper, as well as the box, may be of turned Wood.

In practice it is found that the pusher-rod is not at all in the way, and does not preventarticles from being readily put into or removed from the box. y

It is manifest that 'the opening of the box can be accomplished by taking hold of and pulling upon the stopper itself, instead of making use of the pressure-knob. In such case the stopper might, for convenience sake, be provided with a knot or handle, and the pressure-knob might be a mere head, crossbar, or flange, or some equivalent device upon the rear end of the pusher-rod, which would afford a bearingforthe rear end of the retracting-spring. y

Having described my invention and the mannerin which the same is or may be carried into effect, what I claim herein as new and of my own invention is- As a new article of manufacture, a box or I tion to draw said stopper into the mouth or 1o case comprising a box-body, in combination opening of the box-body, as and for the pur- With a movable stopper applied externally to poses hereinbefore set forth.

the mouth or opening of the box, a longitudi- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 5 nallymovab1e pusherrod loosely jointed to my hand this 26th dayof November, 1886.

said stopper and extending through to the op- CLAES W. ROMAN. posite side or end of the box, a pressure-knob XVitnesses: l 0r its specified equivalent, and a retraoting- SAMUEL KRAUS,

spring, which acts to move said rod in a drec- ED. THIEMANN. 

